One example agricultural machine is a planting machine that includes row units configured to plant seeds in a plurality of rows. Examples of planting machines include, but are not limited to, box drills, air seeders, and row crop planters. To maximize yield, the seeds are planted in furrows or trenches with proper depth based on various features such as crop type and soil conditions. In one example, row units can be configured to push a blade, disk, or other trench opener through the soil to create a trench for seeds to be placed in. Row units can also be configured to utilize a closing mechanism that follows the openers and pushes soil back into the opening, thereby filling the trench and covering the seeds.
In addition to planting seeds for crops, such as corn, soybeans, sunflowers, and sugar beets, these example planting machines can be similarly used to evenly distribute other agricultural material such as fertilizers and herbicides. Attaining proper depth and monitoring depth variation can be important to crop yield.
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.